Atlantic 10 Tournament Preview

Time to take a look at the A-10 tournament and how I think things will play out:

First Round:

#12 La Salle vs. #13 UMass, 6 — If you’ve heard me on the airwaves and read my articles, I’m not a La Salle guy. Besides BJ Johnson and Pookie Powell, there’s not much substance to this roster. UMass closed out the year on a losing skid, but Luwane Pipkins is one of the best players in the conference. The problem is that the Minutemen are not that deep nor that talented. What Matt McCall has been able to do is so admirable considering they do have home wins over Providence and Georgia. I’ll keep my biases going here. Selection: UMass

#11 GW vs. #14 Fordham, 8:30 — George Washington thrashed the Rams towards the end of the regular season. The Colonials are hot offensively ever since they beat up on VCU at home in Foggy Bottom. Yuta Watanabe netted several honors from the conference. Fordham has packed it in on the season and now they have just one game left. BTW, technically GW is the home team in this tournament. VCU and Richmond fans, feel free to complain about this. LOL Selection: GW

Second Round:

#8 VCU vs. #9 Dayton, Noon — The Rams closed out the regular season with a win in Fordham and hopefully picked up some confidence. The slate is clean and now they have some new goals in mind. These two played twice during the regular season with the Flyers crushing the Rams at UD Arena, but revenge was had at the Siegel Center in overtime by the home team. Dayton is so hot and cold with some good wins in-conference, but also some horrible losses. Selection: VCU

#5 George Mason vs. #13 UMass, 2:30 — The Patriots could not parlay a home game against Richmond into a double bye in this tournament. George Mason is the better team in this matchup and hopefully they won’t need Ian Boyd to make a fourth buzzer beater. I think the best chance for someone out of the top four to win this thing resides in Fairfax. That run starts now. Selection: George Mason

#7 Richmond vs. #10 Duquesne, 6 — The Spiders offense is smoking hot while Duquesne picked up a home win over St. Louis in the last game of the regular season. Richmond won in Pittsburgh earlier this season when the Dukes were a tougher team. Since then, the bottom has dropped out tremendously. This should be an easy win for the Spiders and the victory cigar Keith Oddo sees some time. Selection: Richmond

#6 St. Louis vs. #11 George Washington, 8:30 — St. Louis has been a surprise this season considering their lack of roster depth. They are big and physical and can shoot a little bit from the outside. The Billikens will be a bigger threat next season once the roster fills out. All that positivity won’t help. I think the Colonials get another win and end Travis Ford’s season in this one. Selection: GW

Quarterfinals:

#1 Rhode Island vs. #8 VCU — Battle of the Rams in the quarterfinals and many will say Rhode Island is ripe for an upset. I think the stumbles down the stretch give Coach Hurley a chance to reset things and get his team’s attention. VCU host URI earlier last month and every time they punched, Rhody punched back. URI is the best team in the league and they’ll show it again. Selection: Rhode Island

#4 St. Joseph’s vs. #5 George Mason — I’m pretty sure the Hawks will cover Ian Boyd off the bus after he beat them twice this season in the final seconds. The Hawks have Shavar Newkirk, James Demery and Taylor Funk who are offensive weapons. These two played two of the best games during the regular season and they are an awful lot alike. I’ll give the Hawks the victory in meeting #3. Selection: St. Joseph’s

#2 St. Bonaventure vs. #7 Richmond — I’ve gone back and forth on this one. Richmond lost to the Bonnies in Olean without De’Monte Buckingham. Quite simply for SBU it relies on the long range shooting and if it’s on, they are hard to beat. Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley are the best back court in the conference. Courtney Stockard has been a revelation as well. I think the Spiders get the upset though as I just don’t like St. Bonaventure. Selection: Richmond

#3 Davidson vs. #11 George Washington — Kellan Grady is so good and so deserved the Rookie of the Year honors. Peyton Aldridge is good for 20 a night and this team is actually getting a little bit better on the defensive side of the ball. GW is in their third game in three nights and I think it catches up to them here. Selection: Davidson

Semifinals:

#1 Rhode Island vs. #4 St. Joseph’s — Rhode Island is the best team in the league and once again they show it. This is a determined team. Selection: Rhode Island

#3 Davidson vs. #7 Richmond — The Spiders have dominated the Wildcats in both meetings this season. Richmond just matches up well with them and Aldridge hasn’t been as good against the Spider defense. Problem in this one is that the three games in three days catches up to Richmond and they lose this one late. Selection: Davidson